1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a mask inspection system and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a mask inspection system suitable for reliably removing dust particles from a mask, as well as to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device suitable for reliably removing dust particles from the mask prior to an exposure process.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a wafer is subjected to exposure through use of a mask. Removing dust particles from the wafer prior to the exposure process is important for correct manufacture of a semiconductor device. For instance, a system utilizing scattered light of laser light is known as a system for detecting dust particles existing on the mask. In addition to detecting the presence of dust particles, the foregoing conventional system is capable of acquiring information such as the positions and sizes of dust particles.
Where dust particles are detected during the mask inspection process, the dust particles are usually blown away by air through manual or automated operations. By means of these operations, dust particles can be removed from a mask before a wafer is exposed through use of the mask. Thus, through the mask inspection operation and the dust particle removal operation mentioned above, a high yield manufacture of a semiconductor device can be achieved.
However, in a case where the dust particles are blown away manually, there may arise problems such as mask damage caused by operation errors and generation of dust caused by the presence of operators. Further, in a case where only an operation for blowing away dust particles is performed, as in the case of a conventional method, before a wafer is exposed through use of the mask dust particle inspection must be performed again in order to check removal of the dust particles from the mask. As mentioned above, the conventional method poses problems such as the necessity of complicated operations.